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Life  and  Motion 


—  BY- 


VITRUVIUS    FRAZEE. 


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Bruce's    Printing   and    Publishing    House      I 

Sacramento  St,   below  Montgomery. 


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THE 


CAUSE 


OF 


Life  and  Motion 


— BY- 


VITRUVIUS   FRAZEE, 


Bruce's  Book  and  Job  Printing  House 

Sacramento  St.  below  Montgomery 

11878: 


BRUCE'S    PRINTING    HOt'SE,- 


JBntered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  I37S,  by  VitruviU8  Fra«ee,  In  the 
office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


SACRAMENTO,  BELOW  MONTGOMERY,  S,F 


PREFACE 


About  thirteen  years  agOj  I  happened  to  be  in  the 
office  of  Mr.  A.  K.  Smith,  at  Melbourne,  Australia,  and 
while  there,  I  heard  a  clock  which  was  in  the  office, 
strike  the  chimes  just  previous  to  striking  the  hour. 
It  appeared  to  me  that  the  notes  of  the  chimes  were 
peculiarly  clear  and  perfect,  and  what  then  seemed  to 
me  as  being  singular,  was  that  with  each  note  a  flash  of 
color  appeared  before  my  eyes.  At  that  time  I  had 
not  heard  of  any  analogy  existing  between  sound  and 
color,  but  I,  nevertheless,  became  convinced  that  there 
was  an  analogy,  and  communicated  my  ideas  to  a  num- 
ber of  my  acquaintances.  I  believe  that  the  fact  of 
the  existence  of  an  analogy  between  sound  and  color 
was  first  actually  demonstrated  by  some  English  philo- 
sopher, about  a  year  after  my  experience  of  the  chimes. 
However  that  may  be,  my  discovery  made  a  great 
impression  on  my  mind  and  led  me  into  many  curious 
speculations,  that  always  had  a  bearing  as  to  the  cause 
of  life  and  motion.  But  all  these  speculations  were  vague 
or  at  all  events  only  sufficiently  clear  to  stand  as  con- 


Prefi 


ace 


ceptions  of  the  imagination.  It  was  not  until  the  pres- 
ent year,  that  the  truth  flashed  upon  me  in  a  manner 
susceptible  of  being  demonstrated,  and  it  was  prompt- 
ed by  the  reading  of  an  article  entitled  ''  Sound  Color 
Figures,  **by  Sedley  Taylor,"  published  in  the  Scientific 
American  Supplement  of  May  4th,  1878.  After  reading 
this  article  my  mind  was  opened  to  a  new  light;  the 
conventional  theories  of  science  regarding  life  and  mo- 
tion— never  more  than  half  accepted,  were  now  clear- 
ly seen  to  be  false.  Subsequent  readings  on  the  same 
and  kindred  subjects,  served  to  corroborate  my  impres- 
sions, and  now  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  they  are 
based  on  the  truth. 

in  this  connection,  I  would  refer  the  reader  to  a  very 
able  paper  by  Professor  Henry  J.  Slack  F.  R.  S.,  en- 
titled'*  Studies  of  Matter  and  Life,"  and  published  in 
the  Scientific  American  Supplement,  No.  27,  1876.  The 
paper  is  very  instructive,  and  is  suggestive  of  something 
more  than  what  is  given,  though  it  can  hardly  be  said 
that  it  actually  enters  upon  any  new  ground. 

In  concluding  this  preface,  I  take  the  opportunity  of 
inviting  correspondence  on  the  subject  matters  of  the 
following  pages. 

VITRUVIUS  FRAZEE. 

San  Francisco,  1878. 


CAUSE 


-OF- 


Life    and    Motion 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  author  has  been  guided  in  the  preparation 
of  this  treatise  by  a  desire  to  arrive  at  positive 
facts  relating  to  the  laws  of  life  and  motion,  with- 
out reference  to  any  accepted  religious  or  secular 
doctrines,  nor  with  any  attempt  to  enforce  his 
own  preconceived  ideas  into  an  agreement  with 
newly  discovered  facts  derived  from  his  re- 
searches. 

The  results  of  his  labor  as  herein  presented, 
though  limited  in  detail,  cover  a  field  sufficiently 
wide  to  show  conclusively  that  all  the  phenomena 
of  life  and  motion  are  directly  derived  from  a  Su- 
preme Power  which  pervades  all  space  where  there 
is  life  or  motion.  Those  who  are  constituted  with 
minds  which  are  directly  inspired  with  the  in- 
fluence of  their  Creator,  require  no  better  evi- 
dence than  their  own  natural  instincts  to  assure 


6 .  The  Cause  of  Life  a7id  Motion 

them  of  His  existence.  There  are  others  who 
require,  or  at  all  events,  affect  to  require  a  posi- 
tive demonstration  of  the  fact.  Of  this  latter 
class,  there  are  many  made-to-order  scientists, 
men  who  are  only  capable  of  deriving  knowledge 
from  what  they  find  in  their  bookcases.  These, 
to  a  large  extent,  are  the  men  who  dignify  scien- 
tic  societies  with  their  membership,  and  who  are 
only  useful  as  encyclopedical  expounders.  Besides 
these  ready-made  scientists,  there  are  those  who  be- 
come dissatisfied  with  the  teachings  and  disgusted 
with  the  actions  of  religionists  and  they  turn  from 
their  God,  something  in  the  same  spirit  that  a 
little  boy  turns  from  his  food  when  offended  by 
his  father. 

Another  cause  of  atheism  is  derived  from  the 
material  teachings  of  scientists,  and  as  they  pro- 
fess to  be  exact  in  their  doctrines,  their  influence 
over  those  incapable  of  thinking  for  themselves, 
becomes  of  great  potency. 

It  is  with  the  material  doctrines  of  science  that 
an  issue  will  be  taken  in  this  treatise,  not  that  it 
is  believed  that  anything  may  exist  without  sub- 
stance, but  that  as  the  highest  principle  in  crea- 
tion is  of  a  substance  inconceivably  fine  and  ab- 
solutely indestructible  and  indivisable,  and  as  such 
a  principle  can  hardly  be  conceived  by  man,  it 
can  only  be  dealt  with  by  considering  it  apart^ 
from  matter.     As  an  explicit  means  of  classifica 


The   Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  7 

tion,  all  bodies  or  masses  composed  of  atoms  will 
be  considered  exclusively  as  material. 

Although  the  writer  has  felt  constrained  to  use 
the  term  in  its  conventional  sense,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  will  be  found  that  he  is  more  material  in 
his  views  than  the  most  confirmed  materialist, 
since  he  does  not  admit  the  possibility  of  the 
existence  of  any  life  or  movement  whatever  with- 
out a  direct  and  systematic  cause,  whereas,  curious 
as  it  may  seem,  scientists,  as  a  rule,  refer  the 
cause  of  all  life  and  movement  to  imaginary 
influences,  either  derived  from  existing  anomalous 
properties  or  from  dormant  qualities  infused  in 
matter  at  some  remote  period  of  the  past.  In 
other  words,  they  teach  that  a  body  of  matter  has 
various  unexplainable,  not  to  say  inconsistent  quali- 
ties within  it,  which  always  act  voluntarily  and 
exact  under  certain  conditions. 

If  a  ball  is  thrown  up  into  the  air,  it  will  stop  at 
some  certain  point,  dependent  upon  the  quantity  of 
projectile  force  given  and  the  attraction  of  gravity;  it 
will  then  descend,  and  upon  reaching  the  earth  it  will 
rebound,  apparently,  by  reason  of  its  inherent  elas- 
ticity; again  it  will  stop  and  descend,  and  thus  it 
will  go  on  with  its  richochet  movements,  until  after  a 
series  of  systematic  decrements  it  is  brought  to  a  stop 
by  the  force  of  gravity. 

From  whence  does  this  inert  body  of  matter 
get  its  apparent  self-sustained  and  systematic  ac- 
tion ?  We  are  told  that  it  is  derived  in  part,  from  cer-. 


8  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motioii 

tain  properties  existing  in  the  body  itself.  An 
atheist,  while  he  readily  accepts  this  absurd  doctrine 
that  confers  an  eternal  capability  of  action  to  matter, 
is  endowed  with  a  fund  of  reason  too  searching  to 
see  any  evidence  of  a  God  in  nature.  He  will  pro- 
foundly argue  that  his  own  mind  is  made  up  and 
developed  by  the  voluntary  action  of  atoms  as 
they  skip  about  in  his  brain.  This  extraordinary 
stupidity  in  placing  mind  at  the  disposal  of  mat- 
ter is  somewhat  akin  to  making  the  wind  subor- 
dinate to  a  wind-mill. 

Although  no  direct  practical  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  a  God  has  heretofore  been  vouch- 
safed, the  fact  of  His  existence,  has  nevertheless 
been  asserted  over  and  over  again  in  all  ages  of 
mankind,  of  which  we  have  a  record.  Nature  is 
ever  prompting  the  idea  and  is  ever  giving  man 
evidence  of  the  fact,  but  it  would  seem  after  all, 
that  man  was  perversely  blind  to  the  many  signs 
before  him,  since  the  Power  which  instigates  and 
sustains  all  movement  has  been  persistently  ig- 
nored as  a  direct  and  systematic  element,  while 
without  it  there  could  be  nothing  but  chaos. 

In  effect,  we  find  it  seriously  asserted  in  some 
of  our  massive  books,  that  God  in  the  beginning 
implanted  many  properties  in  each  atom  of 
matter,  and  that  then,  after  aggregating  them 
into  huge  bodies,  set  them  into  motion,  relying 
on  their  individual  properties  for  the  keeping  of 


The  Cause  of'  Life  and  Motion  9 

all  things  in  equilibrium.  We  are  not  told  what 
became  of  God  after  this,  but  we  are  led  to  sup- 
pose that  he  went  away  into  some  mysterious 
seclusion,  leaving  all  creation  to  take  care  of 
itself. 

This  pertinacity  in  ignoring  the  presence  of 
the  Almighty  is  peculiarily  characteristic  of  the 
modern  scientist,  who  will  industriously  explore 
every  narrow  path  leading  away  from  the  great 
highway  of  Truth,  while  he  blindly  passes  the 
wider  paths  leading  to  it. 

When  we  seek  the  foundation  of  facts,  we  are 
referred  by  the  scientists  to  the  "  fundamental 
and  immutable  laws  of  nature."  And  what  is  the 
conventional  meaning  of  these  terms  other  than 
an  .implication  of  absurdity?  Let  us  now  ex- 
amine a  few  of  these  laws  as  they  are  generally 
represented  by  science. 


The    Earth's    Movements. 


Respecting  the  Earth's  movements,  it  would 
appear  that,  in  the  first  place,  she  was  given  a 
daily  movement  about  her  axis,  and  an  annual 
movement  around  the  sun.  A  momentum  was 
thus  established  by  which  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances she  would  maintain  her  movements 
forever.     Any  one  less  learned  than  a  scientist 


lo  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

would  be  inclined  to  the  opinion,  that  this  much 
would  have  been  sufficient.  But  it  would  seem 
that  notwithstanding  the  earth's  vested  power  to 
maintain  her  diurnal  and  her  onward  movements. 
She  found  herself  quite  unable  to  keep  within 
her  orbit  without  some  assistance.  Therefore, 
the  scientist  invented  two  central  forces,  one  to 
keep  her  from  going  inward  from  her  path,  which 
he  called  centrifugal  force,  and  the  other  to  keep 
her  from  going  outward  from  her  path,  which  he 
called  centripetal  force. 

Now  if  two  forces  acting  against  a  moving  body, 
oppose  one  another  in  equal  degi-ees,  their  effect  on  the 
body  would  be  nothing,  and  therefore  with  regard  to  a 
revolving  body,  when  once  it  was  given  a  circular 
movement,  it  would  keep  it  just  as  well  without  the 
central  forces,  as  with  them.  It  will  be  shown  however, 
that  no  such  forces  exist.  But  even  if  they  did  exist, 
they  would  not  avail  in  keeping  the  earth  in  her  orbit. 
The  earth  in  her  path  around  the  sun,  describes  an 
elipse,  and  therefore,  notwithstanding^  all  the  ingenious 
theories  to  the  contrary,  it  would  be  impossible  for  the 
supposed  central  forces  to  act  without  constantly 
changing  their  relative  powers. 


The   Attraction   of  Gravity. 


To  account  for  the  fact  of  bodies  being  drawn 
to  the  earth,  scientists  have  enunciated  the  theory 
of  the  attraction  of  gravity. 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  1 1 

If  the  theory  were  correct,  all  things  whether  in 
masses  or  in  atoms,  would  be  attracted  equally  to  the 
earth,  whereas  it  appears  highly  probable  that  nearly 
all  matters  rise  from  the  earth  when  decomposed  or 
vaporized  in  the  air.  But  we  are  told  that  all  masses 
which  rise  in  the  air  are  of  less  density,  and  therefore 
lighter  than  an  equal  bulk  of  air,  and  rise  in  conse- 
quence. Although  this  does  not  necessarily  follow,  it 
is  nevertheless  untrue,  since  steam  confined  al  a  high 
temperature  is  of  greater  density  than  the  air,  and  yet 
at  the  moment  of  escape,  it  rises  with  greater  rapidity 
than  afterwards,  when  it  becomes  more  rarified.  In 
fact  it  is  only  necessary  to  destroy  what  is  called  the 
atomic  cohesion  of  most  bodies  for.  their  immediate 
ascension  in  the  air.  Fire  may  be  so  intense  as  to 
dissipate  a  body  and  carry  the  atoms  upwards  almost 
instantly.  There  is  a  legend  about  the  air  becoming 
rarified  by-*  heat,  and  that  as  nature  very  properly 
abhors  a  vacuum,  she  causes  the  air  to  rush  in  and 
fill  the  void.  If  heat  rarified  the  air  in  the  manner 
taught  us,  the  air  would  be  rarified  most  in  the  hottest 
place,  which  would  be  directly  above  the  flame,  and 
as  a  consequence,  the  air  would  rush  into  it  from 
above  instead  of  in  at  its  base.  The  fact  is  that  the 
air  particles  are  held  in  regular  geometric  positions  and 
those  of  the  consuming  body,  as  they  rise,  force  them 
out  of  their  positions.  There  is  no  vacuum  produced 
nor  is  there  any  tendency  to  its  production.  The  posi- 
tions occupied  by  the  air  particles  are  simply  taken  up 
by  the  particles  from  the  body,  which  are  forced  up 
by  a  power  which  will  be  considered  further  on,  not 
only  in  spite  of  the  airs'  resistance,  but  in  spite  of  the 
so-called  attraction  of  gravity. 


12  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

The  theory  that  air  has  weight  in  its  natural  condi- 
tion cannot  be  sustained.  Experiments  have  shown 
that  a  vessel  weighs  more  when  filled  with  air  than  it 
does  when  the  air  is  exhausted.  But  this  is  no  evidence 
that  the  air  has  weight.  If  it  were  possible  to  extract 
all  the  air  from  the  vessel,  then  the  experiment  might, 
at  least,  be  plausible.  Since  this  condition  cannot  be 
accomplished,  the  experiment  only  shows  that  rarified 
air  is  impelled  to  a  higher  place  than  the  natural  local 
air.  The  fact  that  air  balances  a  column  of  mercury, 
and  also  a  column  of  water,  is  not  a  proof  of  its  weight 
but  a  proof  of  its  tendency  to  maintain  its  geometric 
or  crystalline  form.  If  it  was  a  proof  of  its  weight, 
the  mercury  or  water  would  not  be  balanced  by  it  under 
confinement  in  the  receiver  of  the  air  pump  in  the 
same  or  nearly  the  same  manner,  as  when  not  confined. 

The  theory  of  the  attraction  of  gravity  is 
based  on  the  hypothesis  that  a  mysterious  force 
existing  within  a  body  exerts  an  influence  in  some 
inexplicable  manner  beyond  its  limits.  The  theory 
in  all  its  phases  is  irrational  and  inconsistent.  If 
any  body  is  impelled  toward  another  body  by 
force,  such  force  must  either  be  independent  of 
the  body  or  it  must  act  in  some  manner  by  means 
of  a  cf)nnectinQr  link   between  the  bodies. 

The  term  attraction,  is  an  invention  derived 
from  a  misconception  of  the  true  cause,  produc- 
ing an  effect,  and,  considered  as  a  property  of 
positive  force  residing  in  matter,  it  does  not  exist 
even  in  a  magnet.  Of  the  various  experiments 
made    to   illustrate   the   supposed  properties   of 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion    »       13 

attraction  and  repulsion  as  existing  in  the  ele 
ments  of  matter,  in  not  one  of  them  have  the 
the  forces  representing  these  properties  been 
disposed  as  the  properties  themselves  are  sup- 
posed to  exist.  And  though  the  experiments 
illustrate  very  prettily  the  equilibrium  of  forces, 
this  much  could  have  been  calculated  equally  as 
well  without  them.  All  such  unphilosophical 
experiments  are  merely  crude  attemps  at  enforc- 
ing agreements  with  conventional  dogmas. 

The  theory  that  the  moon  by  its  innate  power 
principally  controls  the  tides  is  untenable.  It 
may  however  be  the  passive  cause,  or  possibly 
its  movement  may  be  coincident  and  perhaps 
controlled  by  the  same  power  which  causes  the 
tides.  While  the  true  explanation  of  the  cause  will 
most  probably  be  forthcoming  in  the  near  future, 
it  may  in  the  meantime  be  safely  asserted  that 
the  effect  is  not  produced  by  any  such  power  as 
is  understood  by  attraction. 


FORCE. 


The  theory  which  defines  such  properties  as 
attraction,  repulsion,  cohesion,  latent  heat,  etc., 
as  existing  innately  in  the  elements  of  matter,  is 
based  on  the  most  narrow-minded  observations. 


14  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

What  then  is  it  that  gives  birth  to  these  apparent 
properties  of  rnatter  ?  It  is  acknowledged  that 
a  body  of  matter  is  inert  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses unless  it  is  actuated  by  a  force.  But  if  it 
should  be  put  in  motion  by  a  momentary  force, 
(if  we  accept  the  scientists'  teaching,)  it  would  be- 
come endowed  with  eternal  life,  unless  it  should 
be  brought  to  rest  by  some  obstacle  or  force 
equal  in  effect  to  the  initial  impulse. 

Now  we  are  anxious  to  know  something  about 
this  element  of  forces  and  also  whether  a  body 
of  matter  has  even  the  inherent  power  of  sus- 
taining a  principle  altogether  at  variance  with 
its  characteristic  inertia.  For  we  will  find  on  re- 
flection that  the  dogma  decreeing  latent  forces  to 
inert  matter  is  absolutely  untenable.  The  ele- 
ment if  force  cannot  be  latent;  or,  at  least,  it  can 
not  be  dormant ;  it  must  ever  have  active  exist- 
ence. What  is  it  then?  What  is  this  power 
that  sustains  a  cannon  ball  in  its  flight;  that 
exerts  a  tangential  strain  at  all  points  of  a 
revolving  body  ;  that  maintains  the  particles 
of  the  air  in  .crystalline  form ;  that  disperses 
in  systematic  order  all  matters  of  decom- 
position ;  that  arranges  the  particles  of  crystalliza- 
tion in  beautiful  geometric  order;  that  carries  the 
light  of  the  sun  to  us;  that  gives  action  to  our 
brain,  to  our  heart  and  to  our  whole  body  ;  that 
gives    us   our   intelligence  and   our   very  soul  ? 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  15 

Again  it  is  asked  what  is  this  force  ?  The  word 
force  is  defined  in  some  of  our  books  as  "  active 
power;  momentum  or  the  quantity  of  power  pro- 
duced by  motion,  anything  that  moves  or  tends 
to  move  a  body,"  etc.  This  lucid  definition 
resolves  itself  into  the  original  term.  In  its 
analysis  we  finally  discover  that  force  is  force. 
Let  us  discard  our  books  and  endeavor  to  ascer- 
tain by  the  innumerable  manifestations  constantly 
before  us,  a  rational  meaning  to  the  term. 

If  we  throw  a  ball  forward  in  any  direction,  we  find 
that  it  will  be  carried  along  by  some  sustaining  power, 
in  the  direction  given  it."  If  we  examine  water  with  a 
suitable  microscope  we  will  see  inorganic  particles 
moving  about  in  almost  every  direction,  we  see  the 
same  thing  in  the  forming  of  crystallizations.  We 
might  also  see  something  very  similiar  in  the  cells  of 
our  organisms.  In  all  these  signs  we  may  discover 
evidence  of  a  power  at  work  identical  with  that  which 
causes  the  effect  of  an  explosion  of  powder,  which  con- 
veys light  and  produces  its  reflections  and  refractions, 
which  causes  the  tangential  strain  at  all  points  of  a  re- 
^volying  body,  and  in  short,  which  causes  all  the 
;;plienomena  of  nature.  Why  need  we  involve  ourselves 
in  a  maze  of  foolish  theories  when  the  element  we  seek 
is  manifested  in  direct  connection  with  every  move- 
ment in  nature  ? 

We  will  find  that  there  is  an  universal  and 
systematic  power  having  vibratory  lines  of  force 
in  every  direction,  which  give  positive  move 
ments  to  the  elements  of  all  decomposed  matters 


1 6  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motio7i 

and  which  reciprocate  with  all  movements  of 
bodies.  These  lines  of  force  do  not  act  equally 
on  all  bodies,  but  particular  lines  act  equally  on 
certain  atomic  structures.  Thus  a  dense  body 
is  acted  upon  by  certain  lines  which  vibrate 
proportionally  with  its  elements,  and  other  bodies 
in  like  manner  are  acted  upon  in  accordance 
with  the  elements  of  which  they  are  formed.  Or 
the  material  elements  according  to  their  respect- 
ive forms  are  built  up  by  accordant  forces,  and 
are  sustained  in  equilibrium  in  the  body  thus 
formed. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  a  clear  understanding  of 
these  forces,  we  should  proceed  slowly  and  care- 
fully in  our  investigations,  viewing  every  evidence 
as  we  advance,  with  critical  and  broad  discernment. 
Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves  with  enforced 
agreements,  but  let  us  with  quick  determination, 
cast  all  inconsistencies  from  our  minds,  for  by 
this  method  we  will  gain  the  co-operation  of  a 
higher  intelligence  by  which  we  willj  be  enabled 
to  see  a  glimmer  of  the  Truth. 

We  will  now  disburden  our  minds  of  all  preju- 
dices and  start  out  in  our  researches  as  free  and 
intelligent  beings.  We  will  doubtless  meet  with 
many  obstacles,,  but  with  what  little  progress  we 
make  in  these  researches  we  will  be  enabled  by 
our  individual  investigations  to  eventually  find  a 
well  defined  and  beautiful    road,    ever   widening 


T/ie    Cause  of  Life  an^'  Jl^ilon'^  ^    17 

and  revealing  new  magnificence  as  we  advance, 
and  with  each  succeeding  developement,  we  will 
find  our  souls  expanding  with  purer  and  nobler 
aspirations.  We  will  then  know  of  a  surety  that 
we  are  on  the  road  which  leads  to  eternity. 

In  the  endeavor  to  give  a  consistent  explana- 
tion of  the  forces  which  most  assuredly  con- 
trol all  things,  the  author,  while  he  fully  commits 
himself  in  a  general  sense,  nevertheless  does  not 
necessarily  hold  himself  bound  to  every  minor 
statement  he  may  make.  He  simply  presents  an 
incontrovertible  truth  in  the  best  form  he  is 
capable  of  giving  it  at  the  present  time,  reserving 
it  for  the  future,  if  it  may  be,  to  give  a  more 
extended  and  also  a  complete  revision  of  the 
whole  subject. 

These  forces  then  penetrate  all  bodies,  organic 
and  inorganic.  They  completely  fill  all  unoc- 
cupied space  and  all  interstices  between  the 
atoms  forming  a  body.  They  form  centers  at 
every  conceivable  point  and  every  point  is  the 
center  of  an  infinite  series  of  polyhedrons, 
formed  by  the  radiations  of  other  centers;  those 
of  a  kind  being  formed  in  concentric  order.  The 
forces  contained  within  every  pencil  of  force, 
have  an  indefinite  variety  of  vibrations,  and  alto- 
gether they  form  an  indestructible  network 
throughout  all  creation,  and  although  extremely 
sensitive  they  cannot  be  swayed  in  any  direction 


1 8  'The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

beyond  certain  relative  limits,  and  therefore,  no 
body  can  exist  whose  component  elements  are  in 
contact. 

Within  a  body  of  matter,  certain  of  the  forces 
are  neutralized,  while  those  which  vibrate  con- 
sistently with  the  body's  atomic  and  molecular 
structure,  hold  its  elements  in  suspension.  By 
the  quick  vibrations  of  the  sustaining  forces,  the 
body  is  allowed  a  free  movement,  but  its  velocity 
will  be  limited  by  that  of  the  vibrations,  beyond 
wdiich  it  cannot  be  inipelled  without  being  dis- 
sipated. 

Those  forces  which  are  neutralized  or  deprived 
of  a  full  action  within  the  body,  do  not  loose  any 
part  of  their  total  energy,  but  by  the  measure 
lost  within  the  body,  just  so  much  is  it  increased 
about  the  body's  exterior.  This  energy  of  the 
forces  about  the  surface  and  vicinity  of  a  body, 
gives  rise  to  two  phenomena,  one  of  which  is 
called  inertia,  or  that  force  which  resists  the 
movement  df  a  body,  and  the  other  of  which  is 
called  the  attraction  of  gravity,  or  that  force 
which  impels  or  tends  to  impel  bodies  toward 
o.ne  another. 

The  force  of  gravity,  or  more  correctly  the 
force  of  displacement,  is  greater  in  proportion  as 
the  body  and  its  density  is  greater,  but  the  pro- 
portion does  not  hold  the  same  in  differently 
constituted  bodies,  even  when  of  equal  densities. 


The   Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  19 

Any  body  of  matter  is  nothing  more  than  an 
aggregation  of  atoms  held  in  suspension,  some- 
what in  the  same  manner  as  a  cloud,  with  the 
difference  that  the  cloud  elements  have  no  abso- 
lute fitting  places  within  isochronous  polyhe- 
drons of  force.  Or  it  may  be  said,  that  the  body 
of  the  cloud  does  not  sufficiently  displace  the 
energy  of  the  forces  to  secure  an  adequate 
outward  pressure  to  sustain  it  in  a  permanent 
form.  The  same  circumstance  applies  to  water, 
for  notwithstanding  its  density,  its  force  of  dis- 
placement is  not  sufficient  to  hold  it  to  a  form. 
By  the  withdrawal,  however,  of  certain  of  its 
elements,  it  is  brought  to  a  state  of  comparative 
rest  in  the  shape  of  ice,  or  by  the  infusion  of 
new  elements  it  may  take  numerous  other  com- 
pact forms,  depending  entirely  in  any  particular 
case  upon  the  forms  of  such  elements. 

The  elements  of  the  air  take  up  the  principle 
positions  of  rest  in  the  space  near  the  earth,  but 
become  more  diffused  at  certain  distances  above 
it.  The  positions  unoccupied  by  the  air  elements 
are  not  voids,  they  are  always  taken  up  by  cer- 
tain elements  which  are  continually  aggregating 
into  minute  bodies  and  in  these  forms  they  are 
finally  impelled  to  the  earth  by  the  force  of  its  dis- 
placement. 

The  optical  instrument,  called  the  kaliedescope, 
illustrates  very  beautifully  a  single  system  of  the 
polyhedrons    of  force.     In    this   instrument,  we 


20  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

may  see  the  direct  action  of  the  very  forces  un- 
der discussion,  for  it  will  be  shown  how  reflec- 
tions are  directly  dependent  upon  these  forces. 

In  this  place,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  enter  into 
a  brief  explanation  as  to  how  a  body  may  freely 
be  moved  about  in  a  space  which  is  absolutely  solid 
with  force  lines  and  inert  matter.  Now  we  are 
aware  that  water  is  far  more  dense  than  many  sub- 
stances through  which  a  body  cannot  be  impell- 
ed without  the  application  of  unusual  force, 
but  the  water  has  a  considerable  amount  of  life 
derived  from  the  forces,  and  therefore  a  passage 
through  it  is  easily  accomplished.  The  forces 
however,  since  they  are  the  very  element  of  life 
reciprocating  as  they  do  with  every  atom  in  a 
body,  offer  very  slight  resistance  to  its  move- 
ment. The  elements  of  which  the  body  is  com- 
posed, vibrate  freely  with  those  forces  which  hold 
them  in  suspension,  simply  passing  by  an  inter- 
change of  atoms  from  one  environment  to  an- 
other, whether  the  body  is  at  rest  or  in  motion. 
All  bodies  are  crystalline  forms,  whose  elements 
are  ever  interchanging  with  the  elements  of  the 
surrounding  space. 


Natural   Phenomena. 


We  will  next  consider  a  few  natural  phenom- 
ena, and  endeavor    to    ascertain    whether   they 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  21 

can  be  reconciled  with  conventional  theories. 
Before  proceeding  with  the  investigation,  the 
author  would  state  that  henceforth  the  forces 
will  be  frequently  alluded  to  as  the  Celestial 
forces,  particularly,  where  it  may  seem  necessary 
to  distinguish  them  from  indirect  forces. 

A  cannon  ball,  when  impelled  from  a  cannon,  is 
followed  for  a  very  short  distance  by  the  initial  force, 
nevertheless,  it  speeds  its  way  onward  in  the  face  of 
obstacles,  sustaining  itself  in  its  flight  against  what  is 
called  the  force  of  gravity.  What  is  it  that  sustains 
the  weight  and  keeps  up  the  momentum  of  this  mass 
of  iron  ?  Scientists  gravely  tell  us  that  it  has  no  power 
to  stop,  and  that  it  would  go  on  forever,  unless  it 
should  be  opposed  by  one  or  more  impediments  equal 
in  effect  to  the  initial  impulse.  According  to  the 
scientist's  view,  momentum  is  power,  and  since  the 
ball  has  momentum,  it  follows  that  it  has  just  as  much 
power  to  stop  as  it  has  to  go  on.  On  the  other  hand, 
to  say  that  it  has  no  power  to  stop,  would  absurdly 
enough,  imply  equally  that  it  would  have  no  power 
to  go  on  beyond  the  limit  of  the  initial  impulse.  In 
truth,  it  has  no  power  whatever,  nor  is  it  capable  of 
receiving  or  transmitting  any  power  except  what  is 
continuously  given  it  by  force.  How  then  is  the  momen- 
tum kept  up  ?  We  have  seen  that  the  displaced  energy  of 
the  forces  within  a  body  are  accumulated  about  its 
exterior.  This  accumulated  energy  may  be  likened  to  a 
series  of  minute  quick  moving  waves  gradually  becom- 
ing less,  as  their  distance  from  the  body  becomes 
greater.  These  waves  are  ever  tending  to  recover  their 
normal  condition  and  consequently  their  greatest  action 


22  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Afotion 

is  toward  the  body.  When  a  body,  a  cannon  ball  for 
instance,  is  suddenly  impelled  forward,  a  large  propor- 
tion of  these  waves  are  immediately  thrown  on  its 
posterior  side,  and  they  will  sustain  the  ball  in  its 
movement  until  the  ball  is  either  brought  to  a  stop  by 
some  obstacle  or  until  the  waves  recover  their  equili- 
brium. 

The  limit  of  the  ball's  flight  cannot  exceed  that 
which  is  due  to  the  displaced  energy,  by  any 
power  in  the  universe  applied  as  an  initial  im- 
pulse. Therefore,  the  limit  of  flight  of  any  ball 
may  be  measured  by  its  displacement  of  energy, 
or  in  other  words  by  its  inertia.  A  ball  of  cork 
pay  be  projected  with  a  velocity  that  would  soon 
exhaust  its  displaced  energy,  and  in  such  a  case 
the  ball  would  either  be  dissipated  or  it  would 
stop  as  suddenly  in  the  air,  or  even  in  what  is 
called  a  vacuum,  as  if  it  had  impinged  against  a 
granite  wall.  If  a  piece  of  cork  should  be 
placed  in  the  water  and  allowed  to  remain  there 
long  enough  to  become  soaked  through,  its  dis- 
placement of  energy  would  become  much  less 
than  before,  and  an  impulse  might  be  given  it  by 
the  hand  suflicient  to  exhaust  its  surrounding 
energy.  And  with  such  an  impulse,  it  would 
suddenly  stop  and  rebound.  If  another  cork 
however  should  be  experimented  with  of  pre- 
cisely the  same  shape  and  displacement  below 
the  water  line,  but  formed  into  a  thin  hollow  ves- 
sel so  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  it  should 


The  Cattse  of  Life  and  Motion  23 

stand  above  the  water,  then  its  momentum  would 
be  sustained  for  a  considerable  distance. 

In  the  discharge  of  a  gun  the  wad  will  sud- 
denly stop  at  the  limit  of  the  force  of  explosion,  in 
consequence  of  the  exhaustion  of  its  momentum 
or  displaced  energy.  And  yet  the  same  wad 
might  be  thrown  a  considerable  distance  by  the 
hand.  It  would  appear  from  this  and  many 
other  familiar  phenomena,  that  the  range  of 
flight  of  a  projectile  is  in  some  inverse  ratio  with 
the  force  of  projection  when  such  force  ex- 
ceeds the  measure  of  the  projectile's  "displaced 
energy. 

Light  bodies,  or  those  having  the  least  dis- 
placement of  energy,  are  more  easily  propelled 
than  heavy  ones,  but  heavy  ones  have  the  ad- 
vantage in  overcoming  obstacles.  A  fish  although 
it  has  very  little  momentum  in  its  native  element, 
is  enabled  to  travel  at  a  very  high  speed  because 
it  travels  in  a  uniform  medium. 

The  displaced  force  waves  about  a  body  have 
their  greatest  extension  about  its  exterior  in  the 
direction  of  the  body's  longest  diameter,  and  up 
to  a  certain  limit,  a  long  body  projected  in  the 
direction  of  its  length  would  have  a  greater 
range  of  flight  than  would  a  short  body  of  the 
same  weight.  It  therefore  follows  that  the  great- 
est apparent  attraction  of  any  uniform  body  is 
in  a  line  with  its  longitudinal  axis,  notwithstand- 
ing any  theory  to  the  contrary. 


24  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

In  the  revolving  fly-wheel,  we  have  an  illustration  of 
the  action  of  the  forces,  the  same  as  exhibited  in  the  can- 
non ball,  although  the  effect  is  different.  As  the  vi- 
brations of  the  forces  follow  each  other  respectively  in 
nearly  right  lines,  they  act  tangentially  within  and 
about  the  fly,  and  by  these  means  we  get  an  effect  over 
and  above  the  momentum,  which  developes  itself  as  a 
radial  strain  on  the  fly,  while  the  effect  of  the  forces 
on  the  cannon  ball  is  developed  in  sustaining  the  mo- 
mentum and  the  weight  of  the  ball.  The  force  or  mo- 
mentum of  a  moving  body  .is  simply  a  measure  of  its 
weight  and  velocity,  and  if  we  ascertain  the  weight  and 
velocity  of  a  certain  falling  body  and  then  find  a  fly- 
wheel of  the  same  weight  and  of  the  same  velocity  at 
the  center  of  gyration,  we  will  find  that  each  developes 
the  same  practical  force,  all  other  things  being  equal. 
But  we  find  in  .  addition  to  this  practical  force,  a  con. 
stant  strain  or  extra  force  on  the  fly,  accruing  from  the 
tangential  forces.  In  the  toy  called  the  gyroscope, 
these  tangential  forces  are  sufficient  to  almost  wholly 
sustain  the  device  in  the  air  when  it  revolves  rapidly. 
There  is  no  new  principle  developed  in  the  pheno- 
menon however,  notwithstanding  its  being  a  puzzle  to 
scientists,  for  the  toy  is  supported  in  somewhat  the  same 
manner  as  the  cannon  ball  in  its  flight.  It  is  very  probable 
that  if  a  suitable  ring  were  revolved  in  a  plane  about 
its  true  center,  and  at  a  high  velocity,  by  means  of 
some  device  which  could  suddenly  be  withdrawn  with- 
out affecting  the  center,  then  such  a  ring  would  be 
maintained  in  the  air  by  the  tangential  forces. 

Such  a  force  as  centripetal  force,  considered 
as  a  central  force,  does  not  exist.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  a  force  emanating  from    some  mysterious 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  25 

power  situated  in  the  center  of  a  revolving  body. 
It  is  simply  a  childish  invention  to  account  for 
an  effect  of  centrifugal  force.  Since  it  is  shown 
however,  that  the  so-called  centrifugal  force  is 
not  a  central  force,  there  is  no  need  for  the 
invention.  As  far  as  the  author  is  aware,  the  so- 
called  central  forces  of  any  terrestrial  body 
revolving  about  a  center,  are  generally  supposed 
to  be  generated  by  the  very  body  they  control ! 
An  atheist  would  rather  believe  this,  than  have 
his  reason  interfered  with. 


The    Magnet. 


The  apparent  properties  of  a  magnet  can  only 
be  explained  by  a  consideration  of  the  Celestial 
forces.  The  atomic  elements  of  a  magnet  in 
common  with  those  of  all  other  bodies,  have  no 
properties  whatever  except  solidity,  susceptibility, 
size  and  form.  The  two  last  named  are  con- 
sidered by  the  author  to  have  been  imparted 
though  imperfectly,  in  the  first  place,  by  the 
Celestial  forces  when  the  elements  were  elimi- 
nated from  an  absolutely  dense  inert  mass,  which 
ever  exists  in  advance  of  each  succeeding  creation. 

If  we  take  a  powerful  horse  shoe  magnet  and  hold  a 
weight  of  soft  iron  at  a  distance,  say  of  one  inch  from 


26  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Alotion 

its  poles,  we  will  find  tliat  some  unseen  force  tends  to 
impel  the  weight  toward  the  magnet.  Now,  where 
does  this  unseen  force  come  from?  "We  may  place 
our  fingers  between  the  weight  and  the  magnet,  but  we 
will  feel  nothing.  Can  the  force  be  derived  from  a  subtile 
fluid  emanating  from  the  magnet  and  returning  to  it? 
Would  it  be  rational  to  suppose  that  such  a  fluid  would 
return  to  the  magnet  with  a  mysteriously  acquired 
auxiliary  force  ?  Let  us  say  no,  without  the  slightest 
hesitation.  The  weight  is  impelled  toward  the  magnet 
by  a  force  more  potent  than  what  could  be  derived 
from  the  so-called  subtile  fluid.  But  we  cannot  feel  it 
as  a  general  rule,  because  its  vibratory  action  is  so  fine 
that  it  passes  between  the  elements  of  our  organisms 
without  sensibly  afl'ecting  them. 

Without  attempting  to  show  the  true  mole- 
cular structure  of  a  magnet,  a  crude  illustration 
will  nevertheless  be  given  to  show  a  possible  con- 
dition by  which  the  natural  action  of  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  forces  may  be  so  changed  about  its 
exterior  as  to  produce  its  apparent  attractive 
power. 

A  magnet  then,  like  any  other  body,  displaces 
a  portion  of  the  Celestial  forces.  But  in  conse- 
quence of  some  peculiar  strained  or  tense 
arrangement  of  its  elements,  some  of  the  ex- 
tremely fine  vibrations  of  the  forces  are  greatly 
impeded  and  changed  in  their  action.  The  vi- 
brations thus  changed,  while  they  become  ampli- 
fied and  extended  for  a  limited  distance  outside 
of  the  magnet  in  their   action  towards  it ;  lose 


The  Cause  of  L'ife  mid  Motion  27 

their  energy  or  amplitude  in  a  proportionate  de- 
gree in  their  passage  through  and  exit  from  it. 
Here  then  we  have  the  condition  at  all  exterior 
points  of  the  magnet,  as  in  all  bodies,  of  one  set 
of  forces  acting  towards  it  and  another  set  acting 
away  from  it.  The  former  forces  in  a  magnet 
act  with  by  far  the  greatest  energy,  except  at 
neutral  points,  where  their  natural  action  is  not 
greatly  impeded  by  the  magnet's  molecular  ar- 
rangement. 

We  will  now  suppose  that  we  have  two  bar 
magnets  before  us  on  a  table  lying  with  their  re- 
spective north  and  south  poles' in  contact,  so  as 
to  form  together  a  direct  line,  and  with  their 
north  poles  pointing  to  the  right  hand.  For  the 
sake  of  a  clear  understanding,  let  the  supposed 
magnets  be  two  pieces  of  white  paper.  As  a 
crude  representation  of  the  molecular  structure, 
we  will  mark  on  the  longitudinal  axis  of  these 
attached  pseudo  magnets,  a  single  regular  sys- 
tem of  cones  with  their  axes  coincident  with 
the  axis  of  the  magnets,  and  with  their  apexes 
throughout  pointing  say  to  the  south  or  left 
hand.  We  will  now  imagine  that  the  vibrations 
of  the  forces  coming  from  each  direction,  follow 
the  contour  of  the  cones,  or  that  they  pro- 
ceed as  if  they  were  following  the  toothed  edge 
of  a  saw.  In  this  vibratorv  action  derived  from 
the  assumed  molecular  structure  of  the  magnets, 


28  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

we  have  two  sets  of  isochronous  opposite  vibra- 
tions interlocking  one  another  and  assisting  in 
holding  the  two  magnets  in  contact.  We  sepa- 
rate the  magnets  a  short  distance  and  in  the 
space  between  them,  the  vibrations  will  still  con- 
tinue the  same,  except  that  their  energy  weakens 
very  materially  with  the  distance,  their  com- 
bined energy  however  acting  as  it  does  recipro- 
cally, is  sufficient  to  neutralize  their  individual 
pressures  against  the  opposite  poles  of  the  mag- 
nets, and  therefore  the  remaining  forces  displaced 
about  the  other  parts  of  the  magnets,  having 
nothing  to  balance  them,  impel  the  magnets  to- 
gether again.  The  vibrations  between  the  mag- 
nets offer  some  resistance  to  this,  but  as  they  act 
reciprocally  and  as  they  are  also  very  sensitive 
their  resistance  is  easily  overcome.  When  the 
magnets  again  come  in  contact  however,  the  vi- 
brations become  interlocked  as  before,  and  this 
added  to  the  pressure  of  displacement,  holds  them 
together  with  great  tenacity. 

We  next  take  one  of  the  .magnets  and  place 
it  with  its  north  pole  in  contact  with  the  north 
pole  of  the  other,  and  we  will  find  that  the  vibra- 
tions cannot  reciprocate,  but  that  they  must 
repel  one  another,  and  also  that  instead  of  neu- 
tralizing the  energy  between  the  magnets,  they 
increase  it,  and  force  the  magnets  apart.  As 
before  stated,  the  most   powerful   vibrations   are 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  29 

towards  a  magnet,  and  therefore,  any  suscep- 
tible body  with  indifferent  or  weak  polarity 
would  be  impelled  to  it. 

The  slight  extra  force  which  causes  the  mag- 
netic needle  to  lie  with  its  axis  in  a  plane,  or 
nearly  so,  with  the  earth's  axis,  is  probably 
caused  by  two  sets  of  forces,  one  from  a 
northerly  and  the  other  from  a  southerly  direc- 
tion, and  crossing  each  other  at  unequal  angles 
on  true  meridian  lines.  There  is  nothing  pecu- 
liar about  these  forces  except  their  somewhat 
greater  energy.  Therefore,  the  energy  about  a 
magnet  is  not  materially  changed  by  any  special 
position  it  may  have,  although  it  may  retain  its 
molecular  condition,  best  with  its  axis  coincid- 
ing with  that  of  the  magnetic  needle.  In  a 
number  of  instances,  pieces  of  magnetic  ore  have 
been  found,  with  several  diverse  poles  in  a  single 
piece. 

Since  the  magnet  derives  its  apparent  power 
from  certain  impeded  vibrations  which  pierce  it 
in  all  directions,  and  since  the  power  is  principal- 
ly superficial,  it  would  seem  that  a  magnet  which 
should  have  the  greatest  surface  with  the  least 
transverse  sectional  area,  would  be  the  most  pow- 
erful, all  other  things  being  equal;  therefore,  a 
magnet  with  a  star  shaped  section,  would  prob- 
ably be  more  efficient  than  the  ordinary  kind. 

If  a  piece  of  steel    should  displace  more  total 


UNIVERSITY  J 


30  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

energy  after  becoming  magnetized,  than  before, 
then  a  steel  projectile  of  a  cylindrical  form 
would  have  its  range  of  flight  Increased  by  being 
magnetized.  The  proof  of  the  condition  would 
be  by  a  test  of  the  projectile's  Inertia,  both  before 
and  after  being  magnetized.  Of  course,  the 
longitudinal  axis  should  be  coincident  with  the 
magnetic  axis. 


Equilibrium  of  the  Elements. 


A  great  accumulation  or  a  great  displacement 
of  local  elements  must  always  result  In  some 
unusual  atmospheric  disturbance,  caused  by  the 
Celestial  forces  in  regaining  their  equilibrium. 
The  effect  would  probably  be  exhibited  in  its 
greatest  degree  at  some  considerable  distance 
from  the  cause.  The  material  elements  if  de- 
pendent upon  their  supposed  inherent  proper- 
ties could  have  no  choice  as  to  their  positions 
about  the  earth,  nor  could  what  is  termed  the 
attraction  of  gravity,  assign  any  special  positions 
to  such  elements.  The  equilibrium  could,  there- 
fore, only  be  regained  by  the  action  of  the 
Celestial  forces,  for  by  these  forces,  each  class 
of  the  elements,  according  to  their  forms  are 
forced  respectively  into  fitting  crystalline  posi- 
tions. Near  the  earth,  these  positions  are  in 
certain  dispersed  orders,  and  at  certain  distances 
above  it,  they  are  probably,  in  close  but  limited 
^gg^^g^tions.      The    positions    are    constantly 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  31 

changing  with  the  vibratory  action  of  the  forces, 
and  new  atoms  are  ever  entering  into  the  compo- 
sition of  the  elements. 

There  are  certain  elements  which  fail  in  find- 
ing any  positions  of  rest  about  the  earth  or  its 
vicinity,  and  these  are  either  carried  off  into 
indefinite  space,  or  else  to  other  worlds.  Among 
the  elements  thus  carried  off,  are  those  of  light 
and  heat.  These  elements  only  manifest  their 
properties  under  particular  crystalline  forms, 
which  they  lose  in  leaving  the  earth's  atmos- 
phere; but  they  regain  them  on  entering  the 
atmosphere  of  another  w^orld. 

With  due  allowance  for  the  passive  interfer- 
ence of  the  sun,  moon  and  the  planets,  it  may  be 
said,  that  all  the  principal  accumulations  and 
displacements  of  the  material  elements,  in  and 
about  the  earth,  are  caused  by  the  regular  action 
of  the  forces  on  its  physical  disorder;  thus  the 
forces  at  work  in  some  sealed  cavern  below  the 
.earth's  surface,  gradually  decomposing  the  ele- 
.ments  of  matter  will  finally  generate  such  a  force 
.as  to  rent  asunder  the  whole  superincumbent 
mass,  and  the  elements  will  be  forced  upwards 
Avith  great  violence,  developing  the  phenomenon 
called  a  volcano. 


LIGHT. 


One  of  the  most  evident  manifestations  of  the 
.existence  of  the  Celestial  forces  is  derived  from 


32  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

the  phenomenon  of  light.  All  the  theories  ad- 
vanced by  scientist,  to  account  for  this  phenome- 
non are  singularly  at  fault,  and  altogether  at 
variance  with  certain  properties  which  they  as- 
cribe to  matter.  That  the  particles  of  light 
should  travel  of  their  own  volition  is  an  irrational 
supposition  at  the  outset.  For  in  what  manner 
could  power  be  stored  up  in  infinitesimal  atoms 
to  propel  them  ninety-two  millions  of  miles,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  greater  distances  traveled  t  How 
do  the  atoms  overcome  the  so-called  attraction  of 
the  body  they  leave  ? 

In  the  refraction  of  light  we  have  an  anomaly 
very  difficult  to  explain,  if  we  hold  to  the  scien- 
tist's theory.  For  all  bodies  or  particles  moving 
through  space  of  their  own  volition,  would  in  en- 
tering a  new  uniform  medium  at  an  oblique  angle 
describe  a  curve.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
when  a  particle  of  light  thus  enters  a  new  med- 
ium, it  instantly  changes  from  its  first  direct 
course  to  another  direct  course,  and  the  latter 
course  will  be  at  some  consistent  angle  with  the 
former,  depending  upon  the  obliquity  of  entrance 
the  character  of  the  new  medium  and  the  form  of 
the  particle.  Now,  any  particle  whether  of  light, 
heat  or  other  class,  when  it  is  impelled  at  an 
oblique  angle  against  a  new  medium,  is  thrown 
out  of  balance  by  a  change  in  the  action  of  the 
forces  near  the  surface  and  within  the  medium, 


The    Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  2i2i 

and  It  is  instantly  impelled  in  a  new  direction  by 
any  set  of  vibrations  which  coincide  with  its  form, 
and  at  the  same  time  balance  it  at  the  instant  of 
change.  As  it  enters  a  new  medium,  the  particle 
changes  its  form  by  uniting  with  the  elements  of 
the  medium. 

Of  a  number  of  particles,  impinging  at  or 
near  the  surface  of  a  new  medium,  a  percentage 
depending  upon  the  angle  of  impact  and  upon 
their  coincidence  with  certain  vibrations,  will  be 
refracted,  while  the  remainder  will  be  reflected. 

A  considerable  reduction  of  light  at  the  back 
of  a  plate  of  glass  will  cause  an  apparent  reflec- 
tion of  an  object,  not  so  much  because  the  glass 
reflects  better  with  a  darkened  space  behind  it, 
but  that  the  image  of  reflection  Is  lighter  than 
the  darkened  background,  and  is  therefore  made 
visible  by  contrast. 

Light  may  be  conveyed  and  in  a  great  meas-' 
ure  maintained  within  a  stream  of  water.  The 
phenomenon  can  only  be  made  obvious  in  a  dark 
place  and  the  effect  then  is  that  of  a  brilliant 
stream  of  light.  It  is  supposed  that  the  light  Is 
thus  held  captive  by  repeated  reflections  from  the 
surrounding  darkness.  But  darkness  does  not 
reflect  light,  otherwise  we  should  have  no  nigh^ 
on  the  earth.  And  besides,  if  the  effect  was 
caused  by  the  surrounding  darkness,  a  stationary 
cylinder  of  glass  would  produce  the  effect  equally 


34  l^he  Cmise  of  Life  and  Motion, 

as  well  as  a  stream  of  water.  The  light  Is  no 
doubt  withheld  by  the  perverted  action  of  the 
forces  ensuing  from  the  stream's  movement,  by 
which  the  principle  vibrations  are  caused  to  act 
in  a  forward  direction  and  convergent  to  the 
:stream,  in  a  similar  manner  to  what  their  action 
would  be  on  a  moving  body. 


SOUND. 


Sound  is  derived  from  the  action  of  a  body 
upon  certain  active  crystalline  forms  by  which 
they  are  temporarily  changed  and  carried  onward 
in  new  forms  continuously  reproduced  by  the 
Celestial  forces. 

Sound  crystals  are  comparatively  large  and 
are  not  reflected  well  from  polished  even  surfaces, 
as  such  surfaces  tend  to  scatter  their  component 
'elements.  A  good  medium  of  reflection  may  be 
had  in  a  clean  cut  surface,  having  close  and 
minute  indentations. 

If  two  musical  keys  or  bars  of  steel  of  the  same 
tlote  should  be  placed  in  suitable  positions  at  some 
distance  apart,  and  one  of  them  should  be  made  to 
Tibrate,  the  other  A\ould  also  vibrate;  while  a  third 
bar  of  a  different  note,  placed  in  some  intermediate 
position,  would  not  be  sensibly  affected.  The  learned 
scientist  explains  this  by  telling  us  that  a  certain  series 


The   Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  35 

of  isochronous  air  waves  would  be  produced  by  the 
first  bar  and  that  no  other  bar  of  a  different  note 
would  be  influenced,  because  its  form  would  not  admit 
of  its  vibrating  in  time.  This  explanation  would  do 
very  well  if  these  musical  bars  were  like  pendulums; 
and  if  isochronous  pendulums  would  vibrate  in  sym- 
pathy with  one  another  at  considerable  distances 
apart.  But  since  neither  condition  exists,  the  explana- 
tion must  fall  to  the  ground.  Pendulums  do  not  vi- 
brate symphathetically,  because  there  are  no  force 
vibrations  sufficiently  slow  to  transmit  the  action. 

It  takes  a  great  deal  more  power  to  vibrate  a 
bar  of  steel  than  it  does  to  oscillate  a  pendulum, 
and  therefore,  if  the  air  were  nothing  more  than 
a  quiescent  fluid,  pendulums  of  equal  lengths 
would  vibrate  from  sympathy  at  considerable  dis- 
tances apart.  In  any  case,  the  supposition  of  a 
fluid  being  quiescent,  is  absurd,  for  such  a  prop- 
erty could  only  exist  in  a  mass  whose  component 
elements  were  absolutely  close  fitting  and  im- 
movable. 

We  will  now  endeavor  to  find  a  cause  for  this 
sympathetic  action  of  the  musical  bars.  Let  us 
suppose  then,  that  two  of  these  bars  are  secured 
in  vices  at  some  distance  apart,  and  that  they  are 
exactly  of  the  same  size  and  texture  and  have 
equal  lengths  exposed  above  the  vices.  In  this 
condition,  we  find  that  each  bar  has  an  equal 
displacement  of  energy.  In  these  displacements 
we  have  an  indefinite  variety  of  vibrations,  as  to 


36  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

time  and  amplitude ;  and  though  the  amplitude 
may  be  changed  in  a  line  of  vibration,  the  time 
in  that  line  will  always  remain  equal  at  all  points. 
The  increase  of  amplitude  being  simply  an 
increase  of  lateral  movement. 

The  amplitudes  of  the  various  vibrations  within 
a  bar,  will  remain  nearly  the  same,  respectively^ 
whether  the  bar  is  large  or  small.  But  about 
the  outside  of  the  bar,  they  wall  change  very 
materially  with  its  size.  For  as  will  be  obvious, 
the  amplitudes  of  the  slower  vibrations  about  the 
exterior,  will  increase  in  some  ratio  with  the 
bars'  size,  while  the  fine  vibrations  will  scarcely 
be  affected.  There  will,  therefore,  be  some 
resultant  action  between  the  lower  and  higher 
vibrations,  by  which  the  bar  may  be  set  in  mo- 
tion and  which  will  reciprocate  by  gradual  de- 
crements with  the  forces  w^hich  maintain  its 
molecular  structure.  If  we  should  shorten  one 
of  the  bars  we  would  destroy  its  original  note. 
For  the  two  scales  of  vibrations,  respectively, 
from  the  base  and  the  apex  of  the  bar  necessary 
for  its  production,  would  not  then  come  to  rest 
at  the  new  axis  of  vibration,  but  would  pass  it 
and  neutralize  the  action.  By  this  shortening, 
we  would  get  a  new  resultant  action  of  less 
amplitude,  and  the  note  would  therefore,  be  high- 
er than  the  previous  one. 

If  the  bar  should   not  be  much  shorter  than 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  37 

before,  we  would  still  have  a  considerable  total  ac- 
tion of  the  lower  vibrations,  though  they  would  not 
have  power  to  control  its  movements.  Now  if 
we  should  reduce  the  bar  thus  shortened,  about 
its  new  axis  of  vibration,  preferably  below  it,  we 
would  not  by  doing  so,  change  the  amplitude  of 
the  lateral  action  above  it,  but  we  should  put  the 
bar  in  a  condition  to  be  controlled  by  that  action, 
and  by  these  means  the  original  note  of  the  bar 
could  be  reproduced,  although  it  would  lack 
power.  This  lack  of  power  would  ensue  princi- 
pally from  a  loss  of  action  of  the  forces  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  bar,  in  consequence  of  its  longi- 
tudinal displacement  being  made  less  by  the  lat- 
eral reduction. 

Experiments  have  shown  that  sound  produces 
geometric  figures  of  color  on  a  soap  film.  The 
actual  outlines  of  the  polyhedrons  of  the  Celes- 
tial forces  may  be  seen  on  the  film,  and  more 
than  that,  they  cleave  the  film  in  their  lines  of 
action.  These  facts  while  they  point  to  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Celestial  forces,  also  show  that 
sound  enters  into  a  composition  with  the  parti- 
cles of  light,  from  which  it  would  appear  that 
sound  may  yet  be  the  means   of  distant  graphic 

communication. 

.-#-. 

VISION. 


We  have  been  taught  that  all  the  knowledge  we 
have  of  an  object  we  see  is  derived  from   two 


38  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

very  minute  pictures  turned  upside  down  in  our 
eyes.  Can  we  look  at  any  object  and  reconcile 
this  teaching  with  the  fact  ? 

We  are  told  that  although  we  actually  see  the 
object  inverted,  our  intelligence  nevertheless  tells 
us  that  it  is  not  inverted.  We  are  still  further 
confounded  by  being  told  that  the  little  inverted 
image  is  made  more  insignificant  by  being  con- 
veyed through  the  optic  nerve — presumably  in  a 
stream — to  the  brain,  where  the  atoms  are  sup- 
posed to  be  sorted  out  and  rearranged  by  the  in- 
telligence in  proper  order.  It  is  strange  how 
science  ever  strives  to  pervert  the  truth.  An  ig- 
norant man  guided  solely  by  his  natural  instinct 
would  say  that  he  sees  an  object  outside  of  his 
eyes,  which  assertion  would  be  treated  with  de- 
rision by  the  scientist.  And  yet  the  man  of  ig- 
norance would  be  right.  The  vision  and  the  mind 
are  undoubtedly  both  outside  of  the  head,  though 
they  reciprocate  with  the  internal  organs. 

A  natural  scene  does  not  appear  on  the  retina  as  an 
image  on  a  flat  surface,  but  the  forces  from  the  eye  re- 
ciprocate with  the  forces  which  carry  the  elements  of 
the  scene  to  the  eye. 

The  eye  and  the  mind  reciprocate  with  the 
brain,  and  the  brain  is  the  prime  material  medium 
of  action  between  the  mind  and  the  several  parts 
of  the  body.  There  can  be  no  action  without 
a  perfect  reciprocation  between  force  and  matter, 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  39 

and  therefore  if  the  optic  nerve  should  be  dis- 
troyed  there  would  be  no  vision,  for  the  recipro- 
cal circuit  would  thus  be  broken. 

When  we  look  at  the  two  pictures  in  a  stereoscope, 
we  have  a  perfect  realization  of  form,  but  although  the 
pictures  may  be  at  the  proper  focal  distance,  the  scene 
appears  in  miniature,  and  in  case  they  should  repre- 
sent a  group  of  human  beings^  and  should  even  be 
magnified  so  that  they  would  subtend  a  much  greater 
angle  than  the  natural  scene;  the  figures,  nevertheless, 
would  appear  like  Liliputians.  Perhaps  the  scientist 
would  say  that  this  was  merely  imagination.  Be  might 
also  say,  that  our  estimate  of  from  ten  to  twelve  inches 
for  the  sun's  apparent  diameter,  was  imagination, 
since  it  forms  an  image  on  the  retina  much  less  in  size 
than  an  ordinary  pin's  head.  The  scientist  will  event- 
ually find,  that  there  is  method  in  this  much  abused 
faculty  of  imagination.  In  stereoscopic  pictures  we 
have  all  the  elements  for  producing  the  exact  image, 
excepting  the  color,  of  a  scene  on  the  retina,  as  it 
would  be  produced  naturall}^  Nevertheless,  we  do 
not  by  any  means,  get  the  natural  effect  of  size.  But 
let  the  stereoscopic  pictures  be  enlarged  to  the  full 
natural  size  and  placed  at  the  proper  distance,  and 
then  if  a  few  mirrors  should  be  adjusted  to  bring  q;e 
visual  rays  of  the  spectator's  eyes,  respectively,  within 
the  center  of  each  picture,  the  effect  of  size  would  be 
found  to  be  nearly  natural,  and  yet  the  image  on  the 
retina  would  be  less  in  size  than  before. 


The  Derivation  of  Action. 


In  all  the  preceeding  manifestations,  we    have 
evidence  which  points    with   unerring   certainty. 


40  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Alotton 

to  a  system  of  crystalline  forces,  pervading  all 
space  where  there  is  life  or  motion.  These 
forces  can  act  directly  only  on  minute  particles 
or  atoms.  Hence,  in  the  muscular  action  of  a 
man,  the  movement  may  be  traced  by  successive 
stages  from  the  extended  action  of  the  limb  to 
the  more  restricted  and  tense  action  of  the 
muscles,  from  the  muscles  to  the  still  more  re-, 
stricted  and  energetic  action  of  the  fibres,  and 
so  on  from  the  greater  to  the  lesser  organisms, 
until  finally  we  reach  the  molecules  where  my- 
riads of  atoms  are  acting  with  incessant  energy 
within  hardly  conceivable  spaces.  The  greatest 
muscular  action  of  a  man,  is  the  measure  of  the 
energy  of  the  forces  on  those  atoms  fi'om  which 
the  action  is  derived. 

The  earth  is,  no  doubt,  controlled  in  its  move, 
ment  by  the  action  of  the  forces  on  the  elements 
of  the  atmosphere.  And  it  is  extremely  doubt- 
ful whether  any  dense  mass  whatever,  floating  in 
space,  could  be  maintained  in  a  systematic 
movement,  without  either  being  surrounded  by 
an  atmosphere  or  without  having  an  atmosphere 
contained  within  it. 

In  all  material  actions  we  find  the  greater 
movements  derived  from  the  more  restricted 
ones.  Thus  in  a  large  tidal  wave  as  caused  by 
an  earthquake,  we  find  that  it  is  developed  by  a 
series  of  unusually  energetic  small  waves,  or  if 
developed  at  once  from  a  sudden  upheaval  then 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  4 1 

we  may  know  that  the  upheaval  was  developed 
from  minute  primary  movements. 

This  principle  is  also  shown  in  elastic  bodies- 
If  a  solid  ball  of  some  such  material  as  glass, 
should  fall  on  a  stone  pavement,  it  would  become 
indented  at  the  point  of  impact  and  all  the  par- 
ticles in  the  ball,  would  be  thrown  more  or  less 
out  of  their  true  positions.  That  is  to  say,  the 
polyhedrons  of  atoms  or  the  minute  crystals 
forming  the  ball  would  be  flattened,  but  they 
would  immediately  be  reinstated  in  their  previous 
condition  by  those  vibrations  of  the  Celestial 
forces  which  should  hold  them  in  suspension,  and 
thus  a  reciprocating  movement  would  be  given 
to  the  ball  sufficient  to  project  it  nearly  to  the 
point  from  whence  it  fell. 

If  the  ball  however  should  fall  from  too  great 
a  height  it  would  at  the  point  of  impact  be  re- 
duced to  powder  and  would  also  be  fractured,  be- 
cause the  force  of  its  descent  would  then  over- 
come the  forces  which  held  it  together. 

The  law  of  elasticity  can  never  be  explained 
by  any  reference  to  the  supposed  properties  of 
matter.  A  ball  held  together  by  what  is  called 
the  attraction  of  cohesion,  would  have  no  elas- 
ticity whatever,  and  it  could  have  no  power  to  re- 
cover its  primary  form  when  once  it  lost  it. 
— » <  >  < 

The  Equal  Density  of  all  Things. 

After  a  careful  consideration  of  the  various 
phenomena   of  nature,   the    conviction   will   be 


42  J  he  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

forced  on  us  that  all  space  and  all  matter  therein 
contained  are  equally  dense.  That  all  creation 
is  an  infinite  crystalline  system,  and  that  the 
planetary  systems  are  maintained  in  their  order 
by  the  reciprocal  action  or  interchange  of  the 
displaced  energy  of  the  Celestial  forces  by  which 
circuits  of  force   are   sustained. 

A  vacuum  cannot  be  produced.  All  space  is 
filled  up  equally  and  there  is  positively  no  room 
for  the  slightest  approach  to  a  vacuum.  A  man 
may  exhaust  the  air  pump  receiver  of  the  coarser 
elements,  but  their  places  will  be  immediately 
taken  up  by  the  finer  ones,  and  the  Celestial 
forces  cannot  be  disturbed.  The  receiver,  no 
matter  of  what  material  it  may  be  constructed,  is 
nothing  more  than  a  sieve.  It  may  be  crushed 
by  the  outside  air  crystals,  but  that  would  not  be 
evidence  of  a  vacuum  within.  The  elements 
within  would  offer  no  resistance  because  there 
would  be  no  resistance  opposed  to  them.  They 
would  pass  through  the  walls  of  the  receiver  as 
easily  as  light  passes  through  glass. 

All  atoms  are  the  same  in  substance  but  are 
divided  into  innumerable  classes  of  forms  which 
are  arranged  into  crystals,  and  the  individual 
characteristics  of  these  crystals  are  dependent 
upon  the  peculiar  combination  of  atoms  which 
form  them.  The  atmosphere  contains  all  the 
needful  atoms  for  the  formation  of  any  crystal. 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  43 

The  element  of  light  from  the  sun  does  not 
pass  through  space  in  the  form  of  light.  When 
it  reaches  the  atmosphere  however,  it  forms  light 
crystals  which  are  probably  made  up  in  part,  of 
certain  elements  of  the  atmosphere.  In  other 
words,  the  forces  from  the  earth  and  those  from 
the  sun  reciprocate  and  form  light  crystals  as  high 
above  the  earth  as  there  are  suitable  materials 
for  their  formation.  The  same  may  be  said  o  f 
heat. 


Animal  Life, 


Animal  life  begins  when  certain  crystals  be- 
come so  grouped,  that  the  atoms  of  which  they 
are  composed  may  by  means  of  the  fo'rces,  form 
several  complete  circuits  throughout  the  group. 
Life  possibly  may  exist  without  mind,  but  a 
mind  becomes  necessary  when  an  animal  has  to 
seek  its  food.  There  is  a  part  in  most  if  not  in 
all  animals,  where  the  circuits  from  the  various 
organs  interchange  one  with  another  by  which 
new  crystals  are  formed  at  such  part  and  thrown 
off  and  returned  to  the  part.  These  reciprocat- 
ing crystals  form  an  atmosphere  about  an  animal 
which  is  the  resultant,  so  to  speak,  of  the  animal's 
whole  organization.  It  may  be  called  mind,  in- 
stinct or  anything  else,  but  it  simply  stands  for 
what  the  animal   is  worth.     It   is    the   animal's 


44  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

identity  as  derived  from  the  peculiar  actions  and 
forms  of  the  elements  of  which  it  is  constituted. 
There  are  many  plants  which  have  individual 
identities  or  minds,  and  these  in  common  with  a 
number  of  the  lower  orders  of  animals  see  an  object 
close  at  hand  with  their  minds.  That  is  an  ob- 
ject when  sufficiently  near,  becomes  enveloped  by 
the  mind,  and  it  is  seen  at  all  parts  at  once. 


MAN. 

Man  is  the  highest  form  on  earth  of  the 
animal  creation,  and  his  identity  may  become  so 
perfect  as  to  have  a  self-sustaining  circulation ; 
that  is  to  say,  his  mind  may  become  like  a  perpe- 
tual machine,  circulating  within  itself.  Such  a 
mind  and  such,  only  is  fit  for  Heaven.  It  must 
be  in  harmony  with  the  forces  which  sustain  it, 
and  then  it  becomes  as  a  body  unto  itself. 

The  Spirit  of  God  is  ever  trying  to  assert 
itself  in  the  mind  of  man,  but  if  the  material  of 
the  man  is  too  gross  to  receive  the  impression, 
he  must  die  the  everlasting  death. 

The  earth  is  a  mass  of  corrupt  material  under 
process  of  purification,  and  the  work  is  going  on 
with  all  possible  speed.  God  is  one  part  of  the 
Universe,  and  matter  is  the  other;  one  is  the 
embodiment  of  Life,   the  other   of   Death,  and 


The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion  45 

the  dead  matter  must  be  brought  to  life,  even  to 
sustain  the  Ahnighty;  but  the  new  life  must  be 
refined,  otherwise  it  can  no  more  find  a  place  in 
Heaven,  than  can  a  corrupt  pool  find  a  place  in 
the  sky. 

Let  not  the  meaning  of  the  term  refinement 
be  misunderstood.  It  refers  not  to  the  gilded 
man  of  fashion,  nor  to  the  gilded  man  of  wealth, 
nor  yet  to  the  gilded  thief  who  steals  from  his  fel- 
low man  his  natural  inheritance  from  Heaven;  for 
such  as  these  are  the  inventors  of  slavery  and  the 
inventors  of  dank  slimy  prisons  in  which  they 
cage  their  fellows.  Cannot  these  men,  with 
evei>  their  coarse  brutal  minds,  see  that  with 
every  injury  they  inflict  on  their  fellow  man,  they 
bring  a  curse  upon  themselves?  Cannot  these 
gilded  men,  see  that  their  short-lived  glory  is 
wholly  supported  by  the  gaunt  ruination  of  their 
fellows? 

We  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  grand  achiev- 
ments  of  science  and  the  glories  of  civilization, 
but  what  are  these  achievements  and  glories 
other  than  a  damnation  to  the  best  part  of  man- 
kind ?  If  we  look  at  our  greatness  in  our 
splendid  cities,  we  will  find  it  a  miserable  sham. 
We  need  but  to  go  forth  into  the  slimy  by-ways 
and  into  the  gloomy  tenements  by  the  way-side 
to  find  the  noisome  dregs  of  civilization.  There 
may  we    find  the  haunts  of  crime  and    disease, 


46  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

and  of  all  manner  of  abominations;  and  we  may 
trace  all  these  hideous  things  to  the  more  than 
brutal  selfishness  of  a  certain  class  of  men,  who 
have  no  souls  and  who  live  but  to  make  a  hell 
upon  earth, — imperfect  men  who  live  for  the 
gratification  of  their  bodies  and  whose  earthy 
minds  must  die  and  rot  with  their  earthy  bodies. 
But  they  do  not  die  by  the  curse  of  God ;  their 
life  is  merely  an  early  stage  of  progression  in 
the  refinement  of  gross  matter,  and  they  die  be- 
cause their  constituent  elements  are  too  coarse 
to  be  sustained  in  action. 


The  Atheist  and  the  Bible. 


Whatever  may  be  said  to  the  contrary,  it  is 
extremely  doubtful  whether  a  man  who  gives 
the  lie  to  his  own  existence  by  disavowing  his 
God,  can  safely  be  trusted.  Such  a  man  can 
have  no  hold  on  himself  Yet  these  men  do 
good;  they  often  show  us  incongruities  in  conven- 
tional doctrines,  and  it  is  in  these  incongruities 
they  find  an  apology  for  becoming  atheists.  An 
atheist  stands  as  a  dark  cloud  between  the  light 
of  Truth  and  its  imperfect  semblance ;  he  looks 
only  toward  the  semblance  upon  which  his  dread 
shadow  is  cast,  and  he  can  only  see  the  darkness 
which    he   is    the   cause   of     But    in    the   very 


The  Caiise  of  Life  and  Motion  47 

shadow,  an  intelligent  being  will  see  evidence  of 
light,  and  thus  like  every  evil,  the  atheist  serves 
a  purpose  albeit  a  poor  one  to  himself. 

And  now,  however  superfluous  it  may  seem^ 
the  author  would  say  a  few  words  for  the  Bible. 
Let  it  always  be  remembered  that  this  book  was 
written  by  comparative  savages  ;  and  in  that  light, 
who  shall  say  that  the  writers  were  not  inspired  ? 
If  man  could  receive  the  exact  truth  from  Heav- 
en, he  would  no  longer  be  a  man — he  would  be 
too  perfect  to  live  upon  the  earth.  But  let  us 
take  the  Bible,  all  in  all,  as  we  find  it,  and  compare 
it  in  the  matter  of  truth,  with  the  complete  book 
of  science  and  we  will  find  that  it  will  compare 
favorably.  For  each  absurdity  in  the  Bible,  we 
will  find  a  score  of  absurdities  in  the  pretentious 
book  of  science ;  and  for  the  latter  book,  above 
all  others  is  claimed  the  pre-eminence  of  truth. 
These  books  of  the  Gospel  and  science  are  kept 
respectively,  within  stately  temples,  where  infa- 
tuated mortals  kneel  at  their  shrines.  But  these 
temples  in  many  instances,  have  come  to  be 
guarded  by  mountebank  showmen. 


HEAVEN, 


The  soul,  when  it  leaves  the  body,  is  like  a 
vapor  of  self-sustaining  elements,  that  is,  there  is 
a  reciprocating  action  of  the  several    circuits    of 


48  The  Cause  of  Life  and  Motion 

elements  which  Interchange  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Almighty.  This  vapor  is  ever  giving  off  ele- 
ments and  receiving  nev/  ones,  but  it  is  eternally 
becoming  greater  in  extent.  It  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  a  free  will  and  mav  travel  at  its  discre- 
tion.  In  this  vapor,  then,  we  have  the  ideal  mind 
existing  independently  of  a  coarse  body;  in  it 
we  have  all  the  elements  for  the  realization  of 
our  most  ardent  aspirations.  What  is  darkness 
to  the  human  eye  may  be  the  most  glorious 
light  to  the  unfettered  soul.  No  pain  can  exist 
because  there  is  no  resistance  to  the  Celestial 
forces.  Forms  may  pass  through  one  anoth- 
er as  easily  as  beams  of  light.  The  Celestial 
forces*  become  mediums  by  which  loving  friends 
may  summon  each  other  together,  and  these 
friends  may  interchange  elements  with  each  other, 
and  form  a  world  unto  themselves. 

Our  dreams  on  earth  give  us  but  a  faint  con- 
ception of  what  our  imagination  is  capable  of 
when  unfettered  by  a  coarse  body;  but  life  in 
Heaven  is  no  evanescent  dream,  it  is  the  most 
exalted  and  refined  reality. 


vmc^  d 


V(^(^/h    ana     loa 


fiT/. 


tJ^i^n/^na  ^woude 


BRUCfS,  SAC.   BELOW  MONlOOME'Ry    S    F. 


^■/§   ^ya6iament{7. 


^/y??/^  ^///.(9ntafimeiu, 


'an  z2/^iana4€{i 


